New month means more Illinois license plates expiring

Check your license plate stickers. A new month could mean more drivers needing to renew their registration in Illinois.

The Secretary of State's office stopped sending out renewal notices back in October to save money during the budget impasse. Officials expected it to save an estimated $450,000 a month.

Illinois motorists paid nearly $2 million in late fees in March for failing to renew their vehicle plates according to the Secretary of State's office

Many Adams County drivers are seeing tickets for expired license plates, but the State's Attorney's office has also been dropping some of them.

"Our first goal is compliance. We just want people to be compliant with the law," Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Cifaldi said.

Cifaldi says many are now driving with expired plates.

"People do rely on that notice and we recognize that," Cifaldi said. "We did see an increase in tickets when the Secretary of State's office stopped sending those notices out."

Including tickets from Quincy police. Lieutenant Daniel DuHamel says QPD understands the situation, but it hasn't changed their approach.

"It's always been up to the officer's discretion whether or not they are going to write a citation if they stop somebody with expired plates or not," Lt. DuHamel said. "So that has not changed."

Cifaldi says for some with multiple vehicles it can be difficult to keep track.

"Unlike your driver's license which would usually expire on your birthday of a particular year, your plates depend on when you bought them," Cifaldi added.

Lt. DuHamel says it's important to look at the sticker until notices are being sent out again.

"Are we going to be out writing March stickers?" Lt. DuHamel asked. "No, most likely not. Could we? Sure, under state law we could, but most likely we will not. We will just give people a reminder and say hey, go get your sticker renewed."

Cifaldi says while the state's attorney's office has dropped some tickets, they haven't dismissed all of them. So if you have a ticket for expired license plates since the mailings stopped but you're compliant now, you can bring the ticket in and your renewal information and they'll take it case by case.